Grizzly bear and gray wolf populations in parts of the Northern Rockies are considered stable enough by the government to survive without Endangered Species Act protection. But the animals could get a trust fund to shield them from hard times.
BILLINGS, Mont. -- Grizzly bear and gray wolf populations in parts of the Northern Rockies are considered stable enough by the government to survive without Endangered Species Act protection. But the animals could get a trust fund to shield them from hard times.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spends about $6 million a year managing grizzly bears and wolves in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. With grizzlies in and around Yellowstone National Park recently taken off the threatened species list and gray wolves expected to come off the endangered list within the next year, that spending likely will drop as the agency turns its resources to other imperiled species.
Yet run-ins between the carnivores and humans -- and scientific research to ensure the animals' populations don't backslide -- mean expenses will keep stacking up on the area's 1,300 wolves and more than 500 Yellowstone grizzlies. To cover those costs, state and federal officials are considering creating a trust to dole out financial aid to state wildlife agencies assuming oversight of the animals.
The trust could eventually total tens of millions of dollars, possibly up to $100 million, according to officials drafting plans for the fund. The 5 percent to 7 percent annual interest on the principle would cover costs to hire wildlife biologists, buy radio collars used to track bear and wolf movements and other expenses.
Congress would be asked to fund the bulk of the trust, which would be set up through a quasi-governmental group such as the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Additional money could come from states, corporations or nonprofit groups, the officials said.
Mitch King, regional director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, said the proposal is a recognition that Montana, Idaho and Wyoming should not shoulder the costs of sustaining grizzlies and wolves alone.
"There is a national responsibility that the federal government needs to deal with," he said. "If you live in Georgia and want to see a grizzly bear, you come to Idaho or Montana or Wyoming."
The trust initially would focus on Yellowstone grizzlies, which came off the threatened species list last month, said Chris Smith, chief of staff for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. It could be expanded later to include management of wolves and possibly several other grizzly populations that remain on the threatened list.
"Monitoring, addressing potential conflicts, managing the populations -- those are all things that happen day-in, day-out, whether they're delisted or not," Smith said.
Officials are already feeling a financial pinch from a second Montana grizzly bear population, an estimated 600 to 800 bears inhabiting mountains along the Continental Divide north of Missoula. The monitoring program for those bears is $400,000 short this year, meaning Montana will have to turn to its congressional delegation for a one-time payment to cover the difference, state wildlife administrator Ken McDonald said.
A trust, he said, would provide stability in such cases and shield the issue from the political whims of Congress.
Hank Fischer, who worked on the grizzly recovery effort through the National Wildlife Federation, said persuading politicians and private interest groups to buy into the plan should be easy compared to the 30-year effort to rebuild grizzly and wolf populations. The only hurdle, he said, is if seed money for the trust is forced to compete with other budget needs, such as paying for the war in Iraq.
"The tough sell was whether we ought to restore some of these species," Fischer said. "Now that we have these species back, I think there's pretty good consensus that we need to manage them."
Source: Associated Press
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